Results for how paper is made from trees
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[BEEPS] Hi, it's Doug. I'm surrounded today by paper. Paper is an amazing material. You can make almost
anything out of paper. You can make a paper bird. You can make a paper airplane. You can make a paper hat. Someone named Malikai
has a question about where paper comes from. Let's give him a call now. [BEEPS] Hi, Doug. Hi, Malikai. I have a question for you How
do they turn wood into paper? That's a great question. You may or may not have
heard this before-- the idea that paper
comes from wood. It's true. But that seems crazy. How would that even be possible? What do you think? How do you think wood
gets turned into paper? Now would be a good time to
pause the video and discuss. OK, you ready? I don't know what ideas
you had, but when I first heard that paper
comes from wood, I thought, well, maybe they
cut a piece of wood really thin or something? So maybe paper is like a
really thin slice of wood? But it's not. Think about it. Paper is so flexible
that you can fold it. You can crumple it even. Wood isn't very flexible at all. You definitely can't
fold it or crumple it. So how is it that
paper comes from wood? Well, making paper does
involve cutting up wood. It turns out if you chop
up any kind of woody plant into small bits, like
these wooden chips here, and you mash it up really
well, then boil it in water, you'll make this soupy stuff
that you see here called pulp. Now, it's not a soup
that tastes any good. You wouldn't want to eat it. But if you pour it out
over a flat surface and then wait a few
days, it dries out and all sticks together
to become this. Now you can recognize it. It's a sheet of paper. Whoa. So that's how paper is made. It kind of makes you wonder,
who came up with this idea to chop up wood and boil it? How did they figured this out? Well, it turns out
it was discovered so long ago that we don't
know exactly who discovered it or how. But we do know that
it was discovered in China in ancient times,
thousands of years ago. The Chinese became the
world's first makers of paper, and they started trading it
with people all over the world. People love paper because it
has all kinds of great uses. The uses of paper that you're
probably most familiar with is using it to
write on or draw on. But don't forget one of the
most important uses of all. Without paper we
wouldn't have these-- books. The invention of paper made it
possible for there to be books. So that's hugely important. But even that's not all. People experimented with
different ways of making paper. And they discovered
that they could make different kinds of paper
depending on how thick or thin they spread the soupy
pulp out to dry. If you spread it really thin,
it will make a kind of paper that looks like this. It's so thin and flexible that
you could use it to, you know, blow your nose. Sometimes we call
it tissue paper. And you can probably think
of other ways paper is used. We use paper to pay for things. Money is a type of paper. We use paper to play games,
like these playing cards. We even use paper to do,
you know, other things. So in summary,
paper's made from wood by chopping wood up
into bits, boiling it, and turning it into a
soupy stuff called pulp. When the pulp gets
spread thin and dries, it sticks together
to form a sheet. That's all for this
week's question. Thanks, Malikai, for asking it. Now, for the next episode, I
reached into my question jar and found three questions
submitted to me that I'm thinking about answering. When this video is done playing,
you'll get to vote on one. You can choose from, how does
toothpaste clean your teeth? What makes hurricanes
so dangerous? Or, why is ocean water salty? So submit your vote
when the video's over. I want to hear from
all of you watching. There are mysteries
all around us. Stay curious, and
see you next week.
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This one here, and here... And here... And... It's done! IT'S DONE! I have invented the time machine! But do you know, one of mankind's greatest
inventions is probably lying around you right now? That’s right my friend, PAPER! This little thing is so abundant that it
sometimes feels like a natural product. But it isn’t quite so. Ooooh oooh. Oh, no! There it goes... Let's trace this paper back to it's roots. Zoom in! In ancient times, that is before the
paper was invented,.. ..people used to carry information
not only in their brains... But on them too! Writing was usually done on bones,
bamboo tablets or animal skin. Which made accessing these writings,
err...messy and tedious. There was however, one Chinese man, in the
Han Dynasty, in 105 AD.. ..who revolutionized the way people
wrote and read, forever! The legend says, that a man named Cai Lun,
once saw a wasp, knitting it's nest. It was then that an idea struck him. He took the bamboo fibers.. ..added them to water.. ..and pounded them with a wooden tool. After the fibers were thoroughly interwoven,.. ..he poured the whole mixture on a
flat woven cloth. Letting the water drain out. He let the wet mixture dry up
in the sunlight. And, Voila! After a few hours, the world's
first paper was born. Cai Lun, presented his paper making process
to the Chinese Emperor. And received praise for his ability. From that time, paper has been
in use everywhere. And, is universally called the
paper of Marquis Tshai. It was easy to make, the writers were happy,.. ..and of course, it was light weight. Do you know, although the Chinese kept
the secret of paper making,.. ..discreet for a long time. The secret eventually started spreading,.. ..after the defeat of the Chinese
T'ang army in 751 AD. By the end of the 12th Century,.. ..a major part of the world was using,
Cai Lun's method of manufacturing paper. But as the popularity of this spectacular
new invention grew,.. ..so did the demand! A demand that the manual method of paper
manufacturing couldn’t certainly meet. This eventually gave way to
water-powered paper mills,.. ..the first evidence of which.. ..dates back to the Spanish Kingdom
of Aragon in 1282 The most common fiber source the
manufacturing process used.. ..was from the rag picker! Which included hemp, linen and cotton. Use of this fiber source was to
continue for another 6 centuries.. ..before another revolution! Although this paper was cheaper than
the traditional writing material.. ..such as animal skin and bones. The cost was still high and
production was low. Keeping it out of the reach of a common man. But this was only until two men,
from different continents.. ..named Friedrich Gottlob Keller and
Charles Fenerty.. ..tried wood fibre as a source material. In light of this new discovery,.. ..the mills started replacing this
new discovery to wood fiber. And a new Era of paper making
began in mid 1844. And by the end of the 19th Century,
all the paper manufacturers in the West,.. ..were converting wood to paper. And, my friends, what is paper
without pen and pencils. Awww... It would be the same
as me without you. So, with the invention of
fountain pen and pencils,.. ..the paper industry sky rocketed! Books were written and read. Paper money was printed. Even the gifts were wrapped in paper. Sorry. Sorry, sorry, sorry... I said sorryyyy... Don't worry, we are safe now. He was just a paper tiger. So, what's more? Done... done... done. Oh, Yeah! TRIVIA TIME! Did you know, for every ton of paper
that gets recycled.. ..we save three cubic yards
of landfill space.. 7000 gallons of water. And, 20 trees. It also produces 73% less air pollution.. ..than making paper from new materials. And, what's more? The amount of energy
saved from recycling.. ..can power an average home for 6 months! Global Toilet paper demand, uses nearly
30,000 tress, everyday! That is, 10 Million trees a year. Almost half of global wood harvest,
becomes paper! Think about just how many trees we could
save, if we all went paperless! So, there you have it. Some of the interesting things that
I know about paper, and you should too! I hope the next time you read or write
something, it's worth the paper it's written on. And remember friends, to tune in
for the next episode. This is me, zoooming out! Hey kids, you liked my videos, didn't you? Before you go, don't forget to click on the
'Subscribe' button and the bell. So you won't miss out on my latest videos. See you.